Cyclopropene compounds are useful for treating plants or plant parts. As a way of storing cyclopropenes or of delivering them to plant parts, or both, it is sometimes useful to form complexes of cyclopropene molecules with molecular complexing agents. In the past, it has been considered that contact between such complexes and water will quickly release cyclopropene molecules from the complex. Also, in the past, it has been observed that when such complexes are mixed with water, some or all of the cyclopropene disappears, possibly because one or more chemical reaction turns the cyclopropene into a different compound.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,426,319 discloses methods of releasing cyclopropene from a complex of cyclopropene and molecular encapsulation agent. The methods of U.S. Pat. No. 6,426,319 involve the use of a composition comprising a cyclopropene encapsulated in a molecular encapsulating agent and a water absorbent material, which may be, for example, an inorganic deliquescent compound. In the methods of U.S. Pat. No. 6,426,319, when such complexes are exposed to water or to an atmosphere with high humidity, cyclopropene is released into the atmosphere.
It is desired to provide compositions that contain cyclopropene; that contain water; and that have one or both of these benefits: (A) retardation or prevention of the degradation of cyclopropene during storage and/or during processing, or (B) retardation or prevention of the release of cyclopropene to the atmosphere. It is also desired to provide compositions that contain cyclopropene and that can be added to water to form water-containing compositions that have one or both of the same benefits (A) or (B) defined above.